Happy Halloween!!

In case you missed it… check out my “Better than Nan’s Pea Soup” recipe from yesterday!!

Yes 2 posts in 2 days!!

Last night we carved some pumpkins…

And we are having a friendly competion, so feel free to cast your vote here..

I hope your Halloween is spooky and fun!!!

Happy Halloween!

From Jess & Dave!

Almost as good as Nan's… Pea Soup recipe!

Hey guys!

Thank you for all the LOVE on Dairy Free Betty’s 1st birthday!  I can’t believe I have already been blogging that long!!

So today, I’m sharing a recipe that is DELICIOUS… and perfect for a cool fall day!

“Almost as good as Nan's Pea Soup”

I was pretty excited when I made this and Dave said it was almost as good as his Nan’s, because she makes and AWESOME pea soup, that I know Dave craves sometimes…  but Newfoundland is a long ways to go for a bowl of soup!!

It’s super easy, I tossed all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cooked it on high for just over 3 hours!  (or low for about 6)

1/2 onion - chopped

2 medium sized potatoes – chopped

5 cloves garlic – minced

1 stalk of celery (I chop it into 3 large pieces, so I can remove it before serving)

2 carrots – peeled and chopped

1 cup rinsed yellow peas (dried)

1 bay leaf

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Yup that’s it… toss it all in, cook it, and then use a potato masher and mash it together before serving… so yummy!

Traditional Newfoundland Pea Soup is made with salt meat,  or you could use bacon, just fry it up before you toss it into the slow cooker.

Hope you enjoy!!

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And now I’ll leave you with a bunch of cute pictures!

Dave took Lance to the vet, and they told us he’s overweight :( Apparently by 10 pounds, which is crazy because he looks skinny, but he weights 95 pounds!!

See ya later…

Hugs and …

DOGGIE KISSES!!   Jess

PS.  What are you doing for Halloween? 

We don’t have much planned except pumpkins and handing out candy with some friends!!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!

 

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I almost missed it! 

TODAY IS  DAIRY FREE BETTY.COM’s

1st Birthday!!!

 

Wow… such an exciting/crazy year!!

A few highlights this year!

*Getting engaged & details

*Started writing for Our Big Earth

*My 2 week RAW FOODS course

*My 100th post

*One of my FAVORITE posts “Random Acts of Kindness” so many awesome comments!!

*The very tasty IRISH SODA BREAD recipe!

 

There are so many more… but I am in the middle of mid term mania!!  :)

 

I appreciate each and every one of you!!! Thank you for your comments and for reading my blog.  You guys have made this last year of my life a lot brighter!!

With 39,291 visits…

107 Visible Followers

273 Facebook Fans

666 Twitter Followers

232 Other followers (direct emails, feed burner etc)

 

 

I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

xo Jess

Fun stuff!!

Do you ever google your name? 

Just out of curiosity I did it the other night and MUCH to my surprise I found my blog on www.cbc.ca !!  I was listed under Island Food Bloggers!!  YAY… that was quite exciting!

Have you ever googled your name?  What did you find???

So not sure if you saw OH SHE GLOWS yummy pizza post the other day?  Well it inspired me… and homemade pizza was born!

Mmm… I am in love!!

Homemade pizza dough, pasta sauce, spinach, zucchini, roasted garlic, onions, peppers, sundried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes!

Topped off with some NOOCH!!

It was perfection!!!

It made enough for 4 meals!!  And was perfect at school the next day!!

It was so good that we made more last night for dinner!!

Not as pretty, I was hungry, but wanted to snap a photo!!

So good!! 

Do you make your own homemade pizza?  I couldn’t believe how easy it was!!

Also, have you googled your name?  What did you find, I am interested to know!!

Hope you have an awesome week!!!

xo jess

Have you Fallen for Fall?

Happy Monday!!

How are you guys doing??

What do you think of the FALL look of Dairy Free Betty?? (If you are reading in email, click to the website to see!!)

I also added some new tabs – RAW and About me!! (finally)  The 1st year anniversary of Dairy Free Betty is fast approaching, so I thought maybe I should change things up a wee bit!!

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I have actually been cooking (AKA procrastinating from school)!

There have been some pumpkin fudge brownies ala Spa Bettie

Ooohy gooey and oh soo good!

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Some Oatmeal Pancakes… one of my favourites!

I made them 2x, because they are such great vessels for maple syrup and pb!!  

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And some salad with TOFU croutons

To make the tofu croutons, sauté tofu with some oil, soy sauce, garlic powder… cook until a bit crunchy,  add Nooch last minute to make cheesy! 

They are tasty!!   I’m sure you could make them other flavors too!

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Next up… My Dave proclaimed “Hippy Meal” – homemade baked beans, parsnip fries and my home-grown kale sautéed with sesame seeds!

I am SO in love with parsnip fries!!! _____________________________

I am so torn about the switch to Fall.  

On one hand there is all the beautiful changes of color.

  

 

but then there is the DARK drive to school every morning *UGG* the joys of leaving at 7:30am!!    

On the other hand… there are the beautiful colors!

 

Sooooo pretty. 

As you can see, I have also been taking lots of Fall pictures… another form of procrastination!!  haha

Anyways, time for me to get back to reading!! I have my practicum later too…  I’m really enjoying being in schools with the kiddies!!

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Ciao for now… stay tuned for some YUMMY Crockpot PEA SOUP!

Pumpkin Soup and Inspiration!

Hello lovelies!

I am trying really hard to come say hi every once and awhile!!  Again, I am so grateful that you guys are sticking around, even though I’m not posting much!!   

Today I have a wee bit of extra time because we don’t have class until later!! woo hoo!!

Wait until Christmas time,  I will be back with tons of yummy recipes!!

Today I want to share with you a link to my October Our Big Earth Article for PUMPKIN SOUP with rosemary and balsamic croutons!

And also, Tina from Carrots and Cake had this awesome inspiration on her blog yesterday….  I LOVE it!!  “Words to live by “   Enjoy

What is your favourite line?? 

Mine is

“LIVE YOUR DREAM and WEAR YOUR PASSION”

Enjoy your day,  xo Jess

 

Thanksgiving walk…

This weekend has been SO nice for me.   I pressed through my homework early on, so I could finally spend some time with my hunny!!    Almost a month and a half of school done, it’s hard to believe, but it was time for me to take a wee little break from homework!

Being Thanksgiving Day, we wanted to do something beautiful!!

Mission Accomplished!

A Salmon heading back from the ocean, up a river to spawn!  I love this shot!

I love this beach…

Seaweed after the big storm!!

Perfect day, with the perfect person!! :) 

So thankful!! 

xo

Homemade Yogurt

Hey guys!

This recipe is too good not to share!!  I have spoken about it before here…

I find that soy yogurt is WAY to expensive, but I have been craving yogurt lately… so I made this recipe using Almond Milk!

I also added some probiotics, so it was good for zee tummy!

I had this for breakfast this morning with some raw granola added in…  SO delish and so super easy!!

ps.  the almond milk was a wee bit runnier than when I used soy milk, so maybe add some extra cornstarch?

Let me know if you give it a go!!

My Operation Beautiful Essay!

Hey guys!!  So I wanted to share with you my  “A” English paper on Operation Beautiful!!  The teacher was interested in this, and thought it was an awesome movement!! (YAY CAITLIN)  Of course I didn’t have the photos in for my essay, but I wanted to pretty it up a bit for you!!

 

Changing the World, One Sticky Note at a Time

Do you think it’s possible to change the world using a sticky note, a pen and a few kind words? This was the question asked by Caitlin Boyle when she began the "Operation Beautiful" movement in June 2009. The mission of Operation Beautiful was to post anonymous, inspirational notes in public places for people to find. The simple act of placing these notes of inspiration for strangers has become a kindness revolution. The effect of this “sticky note revolution” is three fold, it has: the power to improve a person’s self-esteem; it will begin a chain reaction of kindness and it reminds individuals that they are not alone.

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Take a minute and imagine, you are having one of those days when you just don’t feel good about yourself; you left the house angry at your family; you spilled coffee on yourself and if that isn’t enough, your boss roughly reminds you that you need to “talk”. It’s only 9am, and you are already feeling like your day is doomed. You slip into the bathroom for a few moments of serenity and you notice a note stuck on the mirror. It states “You are SO much stronger than you think. Keep smiling, YOU can do this!” You cock your head to the side, take a deep breath and smile. This single note had the power to completely change your day. You walk out of the bathroom with a changed attitude, ready to face the day.

That evening, still inspired by the note you found, you write a note and stick it to your daughter’s mirror stating “You are AMAZING, be the BEST you can be!” When your daughter finds the note, her eyes well up with tears, she walks over to her bed, and pulls her suicide note out of her dresser and tears it into a million pieces. This single sticky note reminded her that she wasn’t as alone as she thought and that people truly loved her.

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Growing up people are so conditioned by the media and opinions of others. It is hard to live up to the expectation of beauty and to have confidence in yourself when there are always unrealistic expectations set everywhere you look. So when you find a random note, from a random person stating how wonderful, beautiful and inspiring you are, it will begin to shift your views on self-worth and self-esteem.

These sticky notes also have the power to start a chain reaction of kindness. Imagine you are walking through the grocery store, your eyes gaze over the magazines, something catches your eye, it’s a sticky note stating “Remember these models are airbrushed, you are PERFECT just the way you are” Immediately finding this note inspires you to continue the kindness. Pay it Forward… you decide to smile at the cashier when at the checkout, and genuinely ask how she is doing. Imagine the ripple effect this kindness could start… again, all stemming from a strategically placed sticky note!

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Finally these sticky notes have the influence to remind people they are not alone. So many people go through points in life believing they have no one to turn too and not only that, but they also feel that they are unloved and unlovable. A lady, who has just signed her divorce papers, heads to a bar, to drink her sorrows away. She happens to head to the bathroom before the pity party commences. As she closes the bathroom door, there is a heart shaped sticky note stuck to the door, it says “So many people love you just as you are.” Reading this note stops her in her tracks, as she is reminded of her children at home, who are also sad about the divorce. Because of the note, she heads home to see her babies that love her and need her. Again one small note, written by a stranger, had the influence to shift this women’s mind, and remind her how loved and needed she is.

Operation Beautiful has changed the lives of people around the world. Women who have struggled with eating disorders have changed their lives after seeing one of these notes of kindness, and girls who have struggled with fitting in and feeling alone, have realized that they are important and someone cares. For everyone who reads one of these inspirational notes and "pays it forward" by placing a note of their own, the kindness continues to change lives. It’s amazing how something so small can be so powerful. So, grab some sticky notes and continue the revolution, changing the world, one sticky note at a time.

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Be the change you wish to see in the World” – Ghandi.